


How to Comfort You

by beta_wolf



Series: In the Mind of Newt [2]
Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Canon, M/M, Newt's POV, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-05-15 23:46:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5805019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beta_wolf/pseuds/beta_wolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Newt knows that Thomas is upset, and does his best to help him.</p><p>This takes place after the tattoo revelation in Scorch Trials and is a retelling of (the beginning of) Chapter 9 from Newt's perspective.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How to Comfort You

Newt struggled to keep away from Thomas. The revelation of the boy’s planned death and execution by the Creators, as Newt had quickly come to think of Tommy’s tattoo, had come in the midst of yet another mind game. It was likely for the best since Newt wasn’t entirely sure how to comfort him, but now they had all wondered sufficiently to determine that there was in fact, no way out, nor any way to explain the disappearance of the bodies and erection of the brick walls. Newt wasn’t very bothered by it. His life was essentially a walking nightmare. The rules never lasted. Nothing ever made sense. He had come to peace with how his life worked. Tommy, however, was now standing frozen in front of the plaque which had once held Teresa’s name and her designation of the Betrayer. What could Newt say to make it better, though? It wasn’t like he had ever cared for Teresa. He thought Thomas was much better off without her, but he knew that wasn’t how the heart worked. The heart didn’t listen to sense.

Newt watched as Thomas walked back to the bunk room where they had slept the night before and climbed into a random bed. He followed after a few minutes and settled himself into the bunk above him. Thomas’ tears were quiet, but the bed shook ever so slightly, until at last the boy fell asleep. Newt rolled over and looked out at the room. He noticed that other boys had followed Thomas’ lead by falling asleep. He smiled. Despite what the tattoos may say about Minho being the leader, Thomas was the one all the boys looked to for guidance. Newt knew he wasn’t going to sleep so he climbed down from his bunk, sparing a glance in Thomas’ direction. Every breathe he breathed in was one breathe closer to Thomas dying. That was true for all of the Gladers. He ridiculed himself for his sentimentality. He had known that any of them could die at any moment. His own mortality didn’t bother him. Dead was dead after all. And he had seen more friends killed than he imagined was normal for someone his age. It was just that the Creators had put a target on Thomas specifically. It was sick.

Newt shook his head and left the room. The world wasn’t just him and Tommy. He had to go see to the others, make sure everyone was ok. Be the glue he thought bitterly, but that he might be fulfilling a role didn’t stop him from checking in with the others. With Thomas sleeping, everyone else had stopped wandering the building and tried to follow his example. For the majority who couldn’t sleep, Newt offered sarcastic quips, tough love, and calming words as was appropriate.

After a while, Newt returned to the bunk room. Thomas was still deep asleep, but he wasn’t looking very peaceful. For a moment he considered waking the boy, but sleep was sleep, even if it wasn’t very peaceful, and all the Gladers needed their rest. Who knew what was coming and when? Just as he was about to walk away Thomas’ eyes began to open.

“Glad to see you still know how to take a nap,” Newt said. If he was up, Newt might as well bring him back to reality than let him fumble around in his overthinking mind.  
Thomas peered up at him through squinting eyes. He looked like klunk. “How long’s it been?”

Newt had been very aware of the passing time, but he checked his watch for show. “Couple hours.” Thomas looked slightly concerned about having fallen asleep, so he added. “When people noticed you lie down, it actually kind of relaxed everyone. Not much we can do but sit and wait for something new to happen. There’s no way out of this place.”

Thomas groaned as he sat up on his bed and leaned against the wall. “Do we even have any food?”

“No. But I’m pretty sure these people wouldn’t go through all this trouble to bring us here, trick us or whatever they’ve done, just to let us buggin’ starve to death. Something will happen.” While Thomas was sleeping, Newt had come to a decision. The best way to help Tommy was to keep him focused on a goal. The boy had so much happening in his head, adding any emotion wouldn’t be good for him. He decided he would give him something factual to work from, but make it personal so he don’t think Newt was spewing klunk. “Reminds me of when they sent the first group of us to the Glade. The initial group of me and Alby and Minho and some others. The original Gladers.” He said the last with a heavily sarcastic tone.

Newt fixed his gaze on the brick wall outside the closest window. He could remember it like it was yesterday. “We all woke up in the middle of the day, lying on the ground around the doors to the Box. It was closed. Our memories had been wiped, just like yours when you came. You’d be surprised at how quickly we pulled ourselves together and quit panicking. There were about thirty of us. Obviously, we had no bloody clue what had happened, how we’d gotten there, what we were supposed to do. And we were terrified, disoriented. But since we were all in the same crappy situation, we organized ourselves and figured out the place. Had the full farm running within days, everybody with their own job.”

It felt like a lie, but Tommy didn’t need to know more than that. He didn’t need to know just how hopeless they had felt. How hopeless Newt had felt.  He only need to know that hopeless situations could be improved. It was such a practical question that Newt felt a smile twitch at his lips as Tommy proceeded to ask, “Did the Creators have everything in place already? Crops, animals, all that?”

Newt nodded. He was still unable to look at Thomas, afraid to admit any emotion for both their sakes. He continued to gaze into the brick wall of the blocked window. “Yeah, but it took a ton of work to get it going nice and smooth. A lot of trial and error before we accomplished anything.”

“So… how does this remind you of that?”

Newt looked at Thomas. “I guess back then we all just had a sense that there was obviously a purpose to us having been sent there. If someone had wanted to kill us, why wouldn’t they have just killed us? Why would they send us to a huge place with a house and a barn and animals? And because we had no other choice, we accepted it and started working and exploring.”

“But we’re already done exploring here. No animals, no food, no Maze,” Thomas argued.

“Yea, but come on. It’s the same concept. We’re obviously here for a buggin’ purpose. We’ll figure it out eventually,” Newt said annoyed. There had to be something they were working towards. No one would do all of this just for pleasure.

“If we don’t starve first,” Thomas said flippantly.

Newt pointed to the bathroom. “We’ve got plenty of water, so it’ll be at least a few days before we drop dead.” Then to himself as much as Tommy, he added. “Something will happen.”

“But what about all those dead people we saw? Maybe they rescued us for real, got killed, and now we’re screwed. Maybe we were supposed to do something, but now it’s all been messed up and we’ve been left here to die.”

Newt couldn’t help himself from laughing. “You’re one depressing piece of klunk, slinthead. Nah, with all those corpses magically disappearing and the brick walls, I’d say this is something more like the Maze. Weird and impossible to explain. The latest and greatest mystery. Maybe our next test, who knows. Whatever’s going on, we’ll have a chance, just like we did in the bloody Maze. I guarantee it.”

“Yeah,” Thomas mumbled, and Newt found it hard to believe that he was the shining beacon of light in the group.  Sure, Alby had talked a lot of sense into him back in the beginning of his time in the Maze, and Minho, in his own way, had as well. But seeing defeat on Tommy’s face made Newt know that he had to try even harder to be strong. Thomas was looking distracted again, the shank always had too much going on in his head for his own good. Quite literally with Teresa and now Aris being able to speak straight into it. A person was meant to have their own thoughts. At last Thomas added, “Hope you’re right. As long as no Greivers suddenly show up, we’ll be good.”

Newt started shaking his head by the time Thomas reached Greivers. “Please, man. Careful what you buggin’ wish for. Maybe they’ll send something worse.”

A flash of hurt went through Thomas’ eyes and he seemed to stiffen.

“Who’s the cheerful one now?” Thomas asked, but the tone wasn’t playful or mocking. It sounded like he had to force out the words.

“You got me,” Newt said standing up. He knew when he was no longer wanted. “Guess I’ll go but somebody else till the excitement begins, which better be bloody soon. I’m hungry.”


End file.
